International Referees

Ever since Mr D Herbert officiated the Wales v England game way back in 1882, Welsh referees have always been at the forefront of the international game.

The highly respected Gwynne Walters made his international debut in 1959 and was frequently asked to officiate at the Varsity match. He was followed on the international scene in the mid sixties by referees of the calibre of Meirion Joseph.

Clive Norling took charge of his first international in 1978 and went on to officiate in many high profile matches. Derek Bevan proved consistently to be one of the top referees in the world following his elevation to the international game. He refereed the 1991 World Cup final between England and Australia. Four years later he was the official in the 1995 semi-final between South Africa and France and followed that four years later with an appearance at the same stage when taking centre stage for the Australia v South Africa semi-final.

Bevan held the record for most caps - 44 - when he retired from international rugby in 2000. His record remained intact until Nigel Owens surpassed it in 2013 with his 45th cap when officiating the clash between New Zealand and France.

Leighton Hodges is the most recent Welsh referee to join the elite ranks when he was in charge of two Tests in the 2012/13 season.

Among the 55 Welsh international referees there are eight who played for Wales (Charles Lewis, Horace Lyne, William Phillips, Billy Douglas, Tom Williams, Harry Bowen, Gwyn Nicholls and Tommy Vile); two who acted as treasurer of the Union (Richard Mullock and Williams Wilkins); one who was secretary (Richard Mullock) and five who became President (Horace Lyne, Tommy Vile, Wilf Faull, Vernon Parfitt and Gwilym Treharne). More recently, Ken Rowlands, Clive Norling and Rob Yeman worked as Referee's Manager for the WRU.

Actor and Millennium Stadium Tour Guide Gareth Bale has been performing his one-man play about Wales rugby legend Ray Gravell across Wales. He chats to WRU TV before taking his show to the Edinburgh Festival.

Coach Richard Hodges is hoping Wales U20 can put a disappointing campaign behind them when they tackle Japan tomorrow as they look to finish the U20 Championship strongly to secure a good seeding for next year's tournament.

Wales U20 coach Richard Hodges is targeting three wins from three games in the Under 20 Championship after suffering defeat to England on Saturday. However, as WRU TV's Liz Jones discovers, he is concerned about the threat Japan pose tomorrow.

Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards is looking for physical and mental toughness from the 47-man World Cup training squad which was revealed yesterday and he added he is looking forward to seeing which players are prepared to dig the deepest.

Vernon Cooper's Ystradgynlais side, who went through their league and cup campaigns undefeated last season, will seek to add the SSE Swalec Plate title to the Bowl trophy they won at the Millennium Stadium in May when they travel 2.5 miles down the B 4599 on 17 October.